Current Books

Read John Ashmen's interview in The New Evangelicals

Hardly a day goes by when religion
is not in the news, often
associated with theocracy,oppression
and terrorism. In this book,
Marcia Pally rebuts superficial
view by offering the this first
in-depth look at “new evangelicals”—those
who have left
the Religious Right for a broadened focus on
economic justice, environmental
care, and democracy. The far
reaching effects of this shift—in the US and abroad—ask us to reconsider
religious stereotypes and refine our political thinking

John Ashmen, President, Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, Colorado Springs, Colorado, home to many organizations of the Religious Right.

I live in Colorado Springs, a city of 400,000 people and headquarters for about 120 national and international Christian organizations. Because it has so many ministries, some people refer to the place as the Evangelical Capital of North America. How they all ended up here is an interesting story, but I see the mass gathering as more of an opportunity for synergy than a cause for celebration.

Focus on the Family is probably the most widely known Christian organization in The Springs, as we call it. Focus has a unique niche in the evangelical community, but the agenda of Focus is not necessarily the agenda of the other ministries in town. Quite often I’m asked if my organization vigorously opposes abortion and gay rights the same way Focus does.

Unfortunately, in the Christian parade, abortion and gay rights have become the two sides of a big bass drum that is beaten so loudly nobody can hear the sweet strands of the gospel. We need to back off on that heavy pounding if we want people on the sidewalks to hear the redeeming melody that is Jesus.

Regarding the paradigm shifts in Christian organizations--denominations, parachurch organizations, and megachurch movements have all had their turns in the driver’s seat of global ministry. Today, ministry is cause driven. And it is youth-led and technology-enhanced. This paradigm shift is befuddling many of the long-standing, heavily structured religious institutions.

What
I mean is that you rarely hear people say they are called to foreign missions;
you hear them say that they are about AIDS orphans or clean water. And they
don’t wait to jump through all of the hoops that the big sending agencies
require. They look online to see who’s doing what, Tweet or text their desire
to engage, and pull up Priceline to get a cheap ticket to the action.

Another wrinkle in the
blanket of Christianity these days that some people can’t seem to iron out is
evangelism methodology. Asbury Seminar Professor George Hunter does a great job
of contrasting the traditional “Roman style” with the unconventional “Celtic
style” in his book, The Celtic Way of
Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West…Again. The Roman
style—characterized by presentation, decision, and fellowship—that fit so well
with the modern era does not seem to be the preferred method of postmoderns I
meet. The Celtic style—characterized by fellowship, worship, and commitment—is
seen as not only a normal progression for a 21st-century mind, but
something that Jesus himself embraced with His disciples.

One of the things that makes the Celtic style so compatible
with our current culture is that a basic Bible knowledge that most people had
thirty years ago—like knowing some of the Ten Commandments, who Jesus was, what
the Apostle Paul did—is pretty much non-existent today. Certainly people can
come to terms with the claims of Jesus and commit to following him after
hearing a simple presentation; it happens all the time. But most folks today
need to journey with the gospel for a while—to see how it plays out in the life
of someone they trust. The Celtic style has hospitality written all over it:
it’s about joining in, observing and even participating in worship, asking
questions, making mistakes, really finding out what it means to follow Jesus.

When
you think about it, Jesus never asked his disciples to commit to something or
sign on a dotted line before he pulled them into his circle. He simply said,
“Follow me.” He meant live with me, listen to my words, watch me, try
doing what I do. And when you really get my message, my spirit will make it
clear to you…and you’ll change the world.

Never
before has there been a generation more passionate about changing their world
for the better. Today’s young, active followers of Jesus have a deep desire to
do something significant and lasting; they simply need to have specific
direction and ongoing encouragement.

The
things taking a hit because of this exciting fervor are the more traditional
church activities. For example, I recently asked a friend whose kids have
always attended a well-known Christian camp if his youngest daughter was
registering for the next session. He told me, “I can’t get her to go. She says,
‘Dad, I can’t sun myself on the beach and play games and eat all of that food
when there are kids my age in Haiti who still don’t have roofs over their
heads.’ And she’s 12 years old!”

My
friend admits that his daughter is probably getting her cues from a 19-year-old
down the street, but she still does a great job championing the message: For
some, a Christian camp is no longer a summer option; it’s a moral choice.

At
AGRM, we recognize the contagious passion young people have to make a
difference in their world. They come from dissimilar backgrounds but
collectively feel spiritually mandated social responsibility regarding “the
least of these” as described in Matthew 25. We believe their perspectives are
valid, and that their energy, wedded with the wisdom of those more experienced,
could start a revolution of compassion that would fully awaken the church to
action in this critical area of personal conviction.

That’s
why we have the vision statement we do: “AGRM will foster and feed a movement
of diverse, energetic disciples who will see the practice of hospitality to the
destitute as both a catalyst for life transformation in Jesus and a fundamental
expression of their Christian faith, thus propelling the church into the lead
role in society’s quest to alleviate homelessness.”

The
Association of Gospel Rescue Missions has its North American roots in
post-Civil War New York City soil. By the time the 20th century rolled around,
an informal federation of people helping the destitute and addicted was forged.
In 1913, it became formalized as the International Union of Gospel Missions.

Gospel
rescue missions have a long history of providing lifelines for those drowning
in the waves of adversity and the undertow of addiction. For more than a
century, they have been keeping watch on the waterfront of despair, and
countless thousands of men, women, and children have been saved in every sense
of the word.

Rescue
mission used to be about that long line of men winding around the block looking
for “three hots and a cot.” They were men—almost always—who were functional at
one time, but because of an addiction to drugs or, more often, alcohol, they
became dysfunctional. They came to the rescue mission and found redemption in
Jesus that led to a reorientation for life. And then with rehabilitation
through the mission’s programs, many worked their way back to functionality.

Over
the years, rescue missions have also served unemployed veterans, abused
runaways, mentally unstable outcasts, the desperately poor, and
refugees—basically, all people to whom Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are
weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” And now, with the staggering
increase in homelessness and so many close to homelessness, rescue missions are
constantly busy and needed more than ever before. The single women with children
who will be knocking on the door of a rescue mission tonight represent the
fastest growing segment of the population seeking services.

AGRM
is still North America’s oldest and largest network of independent crisis
shelters, and rehabilitation centers offering radial hospitality in the
name of Jesus. Currently in AGRM, we have about 275 member missions,
representing most of the first- and second-tier cities on the continent. A few
of our members are small start-up works in third-tier cities or rural areas
that offer just a day shelter and meals, but most are complex, multifaceted
operations with short-and long-term addiction recovery programs, job training,
transitional housing, and more. On the high end, a mission could have an annual
operating budget of $30,000,000 or more. And interestingly, if AGRM’s member
missions were one organization, over the past dozen years, the collective
annual donations would consistently place it in the top ten charities in
America.

AGRM’s
missions employ the shelter concept, which isn’t real popular right now,
particularly in Washington. The current push is "housing first."
Proponents want to forget the continuum of care. They believe that if you just
give someone a house, all of his or her issues will eventually get worked out.
I believe that if you put a homeless person in a house you get just that: a
homeless person in a house. If you don’t address the reason people are
homeless—which in many cases, not all, revolve around addictions, limited
education and job skills, mental stability—you end up spending major taxpayer dollars
with embarrassing results. One of our member mission directors told me
about a man who recently graduated from his addiction recovery program. The man
use to have a homeless voucher obtained with HUD [US Department of Housing and
Urban Development] funding. The mission director asked him how he lost his free
housing. He answered, “Well, when you're using crack and you invite your drug
dealer to live with you, that's kinda what happens."

There
are no required programs or strings attached to [HUD] homeless vouchers, and
authorities have strict limitations regarding checking up on people. It doesn’t
take a Ph.D. to figure out that this plan has some serious problems.

Regarding the challenges of changing AGRM--as
you know, with a hundred-year-old organization you have a hundred years of
tradition, which isn’t all bad, but also a hundred years of structure, which
isn’t all good. Structure upon structure tends to make you rigid and rickety.
The AGRM board hired me—the first person to lead the association who had never
led a rescue mission—to set a course for future relevance in a sea of
complicated societal change.

The
image that a lot of people have of a rescue mission is a hundred hung-over men
slouching in a chapel while a heavy-handed preacher describes in detail God’s
terrible wrath for the wayward. The meatloaf is cooking in the next room—and
everybody can smell it—but nobody gets any until after the altar call. Let’s be
honest, if someone is hungry and you suggest that they turn to Jesus as part of
a prelude to supper, they will gladly turn to Jesus or do jumping jacks or
renounce the Red Sox, as long as it means meatloaf for the moment.

While
that image unfortunately still lingers in some minds, a grace-based model is
what’s emerging in today’s rescue missions in city after city. The
life-changing gospel is still being imparted to the guests, but to guests
who have just showered and are wearing fresh, warm clothes and have a full
stomach. The image being projected is no longer “repent and then come get
something to eat,” even though that was never actually the case. Instead it’s
“have something to eat because the God who has given me a deep love for you
wants you to be not only physically renewed but also spiritually renewed
through his Son, Jesus.” In short, it’s about choosing to play the abundant
life card instead of the hell card.

At
AGRM we are helping missions rethink quality. For years, organizations that
have worked with the poor and have no fees for services—they depend entirely on
donations—have found it easy to justify meager facilities. I believe that pious
shoddy is still shoddy. Quality is critical. We are putting heavy emphasis into
our revised certification program that emphasizes regulatory conformity,
cleanliness, best practices, and the like. And it’s starting to pay off. I can
take you to rescue missions where the lobby looks like a relative’s very
inviting living room, where the accommodations are like an Ivy League college
dorm, and where you’ll likely ask for the recipe for dinner’s main
course.

Underlying
this is a new emphasis on hospitality. I’ve already alluded to this several
times. The New Testament church was spread through the ministry of hospitality,
and it is something that today’s church needs to reclaim. I’m not talking about
entertaining, where you get the carpets shampooed and the furniture dusted and
invite somebody from church over for dinner. Entertaining is inviting people
into you house. Hospitality is inviting people into your life, and letting them
know that no “room” is off limits—what’s yours is theirs. It is only an
understanding and practice of radical Christian hospitality that will
eventually move the church back to its intended role—a role that will influence
the poor, ease the government’s burden, and represent the heart of Jesus.